Climate change education ultimately seeks to promote sustainable behavior, yet empirical evidence often relies on self-reported measures, making behavioral change difficult to claim. This study experimentally addresses this limitation by examining whether civic engagement fosters the enforcement of environmental norms in the daily context of urban cleanliness.

Using a field experiment, participants are randomly assigned to either a direct civic engagement activity in the form of a clean-walk, informational awareness conditions, or a control group. Norm enforcement is measured through real-time observed reactions to a staged littering scene in a natural urban environment. Behavioral observations are complemented by survey measures of civic and prosocial tendencies. The study aims to identify whether active participation fosters norm internalization and collective responsibility, beyond awareness alone. It contributes to the literature on climate change education, civic engagement, and norm enforcement, with implications for the design of urban environmental policies.

Practical information